Yellowcard Celebrates Ocean Avenue's 20th Anniversary at Usana Amphitheater.
August 13, 2023
One week ago, pop/punk fans in Utah rejoiced as they attended a Yellowcard show at Usana Amphitheater in Utah. The cause for celebration was the 20th anniversary of their album Ocean Avenue, but the real cause for celebration for everyone going was the return of Yellowcard, after the band broke up in 2017 following the release of their self-titled 10th studio album.
The night opened with This Wild Life taking the stage first. They introduced themselves to the crowd as the Hot Topic version of Mumford and Sons and had it displayed behind them as they performed. Their set was short but got the evening off on the right track.
Throughout the night during the breakdown of the sets, Emo Night Brooklyn performed a DJ set in between bands to keep the energy going. The crowd seemed to love this as fan favorite emo and pop/punk hits poured forth with the DJ dancing on the stage and encouraging the crowd to have a sing-along to every song.
Next up on stage was Florida based Alt/rock group Anberlin. They played a short set also but had the crowd on their feet the entire time from the moment they came out until they walked off. Vocalist, Stephan Christian, belted out fan favorites and in between songs talked about how much the band loved coming to Salt Lake City because of the warm welcome they always receive, which got a roaring approval from the fans. They closed out their set with their number one hit “Feel Good Drag.”
Mayday Parade hit the stage next and wasted no time in keeping the momentum going, opening with “Oh Well, Oh Well.” The next song on their set was “More Like A Crash” which was recently released back in May of this year. Although it had only been out a few months the crowd seemed to know every word to it and sang along to the delight of vocalist, Derek Sanders. Sanders talked to the crowd between their songs, relishing the resurgence of Emo music and asking the fans what they thought of it, which brought a huge cheer.
The night’s main event finally was upon us as Yellowcard came out onto the stage to the delight of the fans who just a year ago never thought this would happen again. They immediately broke into “Way Away” and the crowd came to life cheering and singing along. The first few songs went back-to-back to the delight of the crowd who was just in awe seeing this band on stage again and living in the moment. Finally, vocalist, Ryan Key, greeted the crowd asking if we were all having a good time because they were on stage. He may have said a few more words to us but the resounding yes and cheers from the crowd to his answer drowned out anything else that might have been said. Throughout the night, Key would talk to everyone about how he loved coming to Utah and everyone always asked him why he had to have a Salt Lake City stop on every tour. His answer was “Because Salt Lake City always brings it.” The crowd loved this, giving such a loud cheer and causing Key to thank the crowd for always turning out for them and making it one of their best stops on tour.
Through the night, Key’s interaction with the crowd was on point, and he would talk about how he never thought he would be here with the band ever again just a short while ago. He told a story of how he wanted to still do music and their tour mates, Mayday Parade, had him on tour with them as a solo performer to open their shows and how it meant so much to him before inviting Sanders to the stage to perform “Hang You Up.” Sanders asked the crowd to give it up for Yellowcard when he walked out, and the crowd did exactly that.
The rest of the night went off without a hitch and the atmosphere in the air was one of celebration and fulfillment. It was great seeing this band that everyone has loved come together again and being there to help celebrate their iconic album, Ocean Avenue.
